The US needs a different perspective on Latin America

The global landscape is marked by strategic competition between the U.S. and China. Chinese investments in the Western Hemisphere have multiplied, especially in mining, electricity and infrastructure.

A notable example is the Chancay mega-port in Peru, the first deep-water port in Latin America. With an initial investment of $1.5 billion and an increase up to $7 billion in the near future, it will be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping of China in November. This port will be an essential logistics hub, allowing efficient exports from Brazil to Asia, becoming the main Pacific port for trade with China and other Asian countries.

As the leading global power, the U.S. is called to be a strategic partner for the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. requires a distinct and differentiated vision of the region and its countries. Beyond the traditional view between allied and non-aligned countries, it is logical and natural that not all 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean share the same common interests with the U.S.

Even the current political landscape among traditional U.S. partners in the region shows different levels of progress in the common agenda, as well as different opportunities available in each country, to be positive actors in challenges that directly affect the U.S., from migration and security to democracy and the threat of fentanyl. This is an opportunity to prioritize the U.S. impact on countries that have strategic value, for example, due to their natural resources and geographical location.

The different degrees of economic and commercial integration between the countries in the hemisphere and the U.S. make the need for a different relationship even more evident. In 2023, the value of total trade between the U.S. and the region decreased by 1 percent. Out of Washington’s top 10 trading partners in Latin America, four have a trade surplus with the U.S. While the U.S. has the will to implement near-shoring and friend-shoring policies, with significant support both in the administration and in the Capitol, this approach is not necessarily feasible, at least in the immediate future, as a general policy for U.S. economic reintegration towards the southern border.

To ensure the intraregional trade flows that American prosperity relies on, the U.S. must prioritize partners in the region and provide them with a broader, attractive and fruitful relationship, considering the convergence of interests with each country. Building a more tangible political partnership by prioritizing the network of the 10 existing trade agreements with Latin American democracies would be the right path to face current challenges in the short term.

Regardless of which party is in the White House in 2025, a more comprehensive and strategic approach to partners in Latin America will be indispensable. Although Washington’s political willingness for free trade and long-term commitments has diminished due to global political volatility, the fact is that Latin America is the region with the second-most trade flows from the U.S. (after Asia), with over $517 billion in 2023. The complex political and social challenges in Latin America are undeniable, but so is the region’s economic and security relevance.

If the U.S. continues to withdraw from the opportunities and challenges that exist in the region, it will have a direct and adverse effect on its own interests. Political pragmatism and global circumstances should not compete with a geopolitical outlook on the region. It is widely known that there are already other powers offering the trade and investment opportunities that the countries in the hemisphere require.

The future of U.S. leadership in Latin America depends almost exclusively on its commitment to the region. To address the challenges of migration, transnational organized crime and illicit industries that undermine democratic institutions and governance, the U.S. needs to strengthen its ties with regional partners by reinforcing its economic relationships based on existing trade agreements. Lasting and mutually beneficial alliances can be built upon this foundation, similar to the ones that currently support U.S. global interests in Europe and Asia.

Twenty-eight countries in the region are now considered middle-income and are capable of contributing their own resources to address current challenges and shared priorities. While this does not completely reduce the need for assistance from the U.S. — which is valuable in terms of capacity building, technology and other resources derived from its soft power — the starting point for a new chapter in the U.S. relationship with the Americas depends on U.S. political will. Yet the continuous lack of attention being given to Latin America in the context of the 21st century is not encouraging.

A changing and increasingly challenging world only reaffirms the need for a renewed U.S. geopolitical vision of the region, which is indispensable for the collective success of the Americas.

Alfredo Ferrero is the Peru’s ambassador to the U.S.